Academic motivation and school performance : toward a structural model.

The purpose of this study was to propose and test a motivational model of school performance based on Deci and Ryan′s theoretical framework (Deci & Ryan, 1985, 1991) using structural equation modeling. Students completed the French version of the Academic Motivation Scale as well as measures of perceived academic competence and perceived academic self-determination during the spring semester. Subsequently, their final grades in four central subjects were collected at the end of the school year. Results supported the hypothesized model. More specifically, perceived academic competence and perceived academic self-determination positively influenced autonomous academic motivation, which in turn had a positive impact on school performance. The proposed model explained 28% of the variance in performance. Results highlight the importance of academic motivation in the prediction of school performance and future research directions are offered